I’ve been making my own non-dairy milks in my Vitamix blender for as many years as I’ve been vegan (over five!). Homemade milks save you $$ MONEY! I’m frugal to the core.

Homemade milks also taste much better than the vast majority of packaged non-dairy milks. Of course, I do like the taste of packaged unsweetened soy milk (containing just organic soybeans and filtered water), but I haven’t found a commercial nut milk that I like. Sorry- but they taste icky and “chemically” to me. And, I don’t want vegetable gums/oils and sweeteners in my milk.

1. Cook a batch of brown rice ahead of time. Freeze in 1/2 cup portions so you’ll have just what you need when you’re ready to make some milk. Thaw the portion of rice while the nuts and coconut are soaking.

2. Soak the nuts and coconut in the water overnight or 4-8 hours, in the fridge.

3. Blend the rice, nuts, coconut, water and vanilla in a high powered blender.

4. I don’t strain out the sediment, but you can if you want to. I just shake before pouring. (After 5+ years of drinking homemade milks, the little bit of sediment just seems “normal” to me.)

5. Store in the fridge in glass jars. Use within about a week. (After that period of time, it will turn into a sort of kefir.)

Coco-Hazelnut Rice Milk

*To learn why you do NOT want to use long grain rice, read my previous blog post Milk A Plant. That post also contains my similar recipe for date-sweetened Brazil Nut Rice Milk.